The UK government has pledged to maintain current trading relationships with the world's poorest countries after Brexit.

Maximiliano Mendez-Parra, senior research fellow at the Overseas Development Institute, said: "We welcome this announcement by the UK government that it will extend preferences to Least Developed Countries after Brexit and that it will explore options to maintain current market access for other lower-middle income countries. This will reduce the uncertainty that the poorest countries have been facing since the Brexit vote a year ago.

"However, this is the minimum the UK can do after Brexit. While it is a good starting point for the UK’s future trading relationship with developing countries, the UK Government should not stop there and seek to go further with its trade commitments to the poorest countries.

"The UK should work in parallel with the negotiations with the EU to ensure that after Brexit, the trade and development offer to developing countries is ambitious and goes further than their existing arrangements with the EU."

ENDS

For more information or to arrange an interview with Maximiliano Mendez-Parra please contact James Rush on [email protected] or +44 (0)7808 791265